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Nobody — not the courts, Crown attorney, or defence lawyers, nor Jian Ghomeshi himself — will reveal the identity of the “psychotherapist” whose letter helped the former CBC star resolve his sexual assault charge without a trial.

Wednesday, when Crown attorney Michael Callaghan told Regional Chief Justice Timothy Lipson that a peace bond and an apology by Ghomeshi would replace the criminal trial, he said the work of the therapist was key to the Crown’s agreeing to the deal.

“Counsel for Mr. Ghomeshi will file with the court a letter confirming that (Ghomeshi) has undergone counselling over the past two years with a psychotherapist,” Callaghan told court Wednesday. “The letter outlines Mr. Ghomeshi’s progress toward acquiring insight into the attitudes which sourced his offensive behaviour.

“Mr. Ghomeshi’s therapist also confirms that this commitment to counselling is ongoing. Mr. Ghomeshi’s rehabilitative efforts and commitment to reform are important considerations in support of this resolution.”

Who’s the therapist? What is her track record? Is she a registered psychotherapist? Does she have experience in dealing with cases similar to Ghomeshi?

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The name of the therapist was blacked out in the short letter entered as an exhibit in court by Ghomeshi lawyer Marie Henein. All that can be read, both in handwriting and typed out, are the letters “MSW” and “RSW.”

The former is a designation for master of social work. The latter, registered social worker. No certification number is shown on the one-page letter. There is no notation showing that the therapist is a member of a regulated college in Ontario. Indeed, there is no indication of where in the world the psychotherapist is based.

Henein submitted the single-page letter from the therapist, telling the court her name was redacted to protect “for the protection of her other clients and concerns that she raised.” Henein said the Crown, which was supplied with an unredacted copy, agreed with this redaction.

After Star lawyer Iris Fischer asked for an unredacted copy of the letter, Henein passed the Star’s request to another lawyer in her office, Scott Hutchison. In a short response, Hutchison said “what you have is what the court had.”

Fischer also asked the Crown for the unredacted copy. Callaghan — who used the word “psychotherapist” in Wednesday’s remarks in court — said “the media is in possession of the exhibit as it was filed with the court.” He referred the Star to the reasons provided by Henein in court to explain why it was redacted.

Fischer says redactions, like sealing orders, are far more of a violation of the open-court principle than publication bans since the information is kept completely secret. It is also troubling, she says, that the defence and the Crown agreed between themselves to keep the information out of the public domain.

“They decided to side-step the open-court principle,” she says. “The way it’s supposed to work is that redactions need to be justified in court on convincing evidence and a judge needs to decide if it meets a high threshold.”

She adds that it is quite unusual for a judge to be asked to decide on whether a peace bond is appropriate based on a redacted document.

“It’s a letter from a nameless person. Arguably the value of that is nil.”

A Star reporter asked Justice Lipson for an unredacted copy of the letter. A spokesperson said the judge only saw the censored copy, noting that no objection was raised in court when the exhibit was submitted.

In his remarks to Justice Lipson on Wednesday, Callaghan used the word “psychotherapist.” Since 2015, Ontario psychotherapists have been regulated by the College of Registered Psychotherapists. According to the Ontario Society of Psychotherapists, in existence since the early 1990s, “psychotherapy addresses personal difficulties. It allows an individual, family, or couple, to talk openly and confidentially about their concerns and feelings with a trained professional.”

According to the society, psychotherapy is often used to help individuals deal with anxiety, addiction, sexual-orientation issues and in some cases to treat individuals who are victims of sexual abuse.

The actual letter written by the psychotherapist was dated April 30, 2016, two weeks before the court date but during a time when defence lawyer Henein was trying to achieve a nontrial resolution for her client. There are few clues in the letter as to who the person is, other than “MSW, RSW.”

According to the therapist, there were 61 appointments between Nov. 12, 2014 and April 30, 2016, some in person, some by phone or Skype. The therapy began two weeks after Ghomeshi was fired from CBC and a police investigation launched.

“Our sessions have focused on the social and personal factors related to the specific charges, consequences of these charges and strategies for managing anxiety,” the therapist writes.

Ghomeshi was, during that time, facing accusations from six women. In three cases, he was acquitted. In two cases, the charges were withdrawn. In relation to the Kathryn Borel case, he apologized for his conduct and entered into a one-year peace bond with Borel, requiring him to keep the peace, not have any weapons, and to stay away from her

The therapist writes that “we also examined the effects of discourses related to male dominance and success, strategies for managing stress and anxiety, effective expressions of anger, and paradigms of intimacy.”

The therapist also writes Ghomeshi comes prepared to his sessions. “He continues to take accountability for his choices and actions, and continues to explore and practice skills that support healthier relationships.”

The letter makes no mention of the specific allegation brought by Borel, the former associate producer at Q, the program Ghomeshi hosted on CBC Radio. That allegation was detailed in court by the Crown:

“On February 7th 2008, Ms. Borel and Mr. Ghomeshi were working late at the office. Ms. Borel was bending over her desk to pick up some papers when Mr. Ghomeshi approached her from behind. He held her waist and pressed his pelvis back and forth, repeatedly into her buttocks. This lasted for several seconds. Both were fully clothed.”

After Ghomeshi entered into a peace bond, Callaghan withdrew the single count of sexual assault.

Below the final line of therapist’s six-paragraph letter ends with a suggestion that his therapy will be ongoing: “I have no doubt that Mr. Ghomeshi will continue to reflect on these issues going forward, and will be happy to support him in that work.”

Below that final line is a large black mark covering the identity of the letter writer.

Criminal lawyer David Butt, asked about the redaction, said the Crown would be expected to perform due diligence on the credentials of the therapist and verify that Ghomeshi had sought treatment as claimed. But the media’s role as verifiers of authorities’ decisions is also important, he said.

“If a journalist can say to his or her audience he’s getting treatment from a qualified psychologist, arguably that means more to the general public than just the Crown attorney saying he is,” Butt said in an interview.

“The nature of the therapy and the repute of the therapist are all things that the Crown knows and would have considered when deciding whether or not to withdraw the charge,” says Fischer. “But the rest of us don’t get to make that assessment. We have to now rely on the Crown’s assessment without being able to scrutinize it and that the whole reason we have open courts.”

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